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Reviews by HarryPotHead:

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The quintessential modern day Porter, pitch black, with a great head. Faint chocolate and coffee in the aroma. Easy drinking, smooth with a mellow rawness, creamy to the mouth, dry with faint molasses. Slight twang roasted character and some fig. At 5.0 percent alcohol by volume, this makes for a hell of a session beer. But, slap some eggs (sunny side up), pork & beans, black pudding, fried tomato slices, butter simmered button-mushrooms, toast and HP brown sauce together and it makes for a great hangover breakfast. Oh yeah.

Presentation: 12 oz clear bottle that has gold foil on top, no freshness date to be found.

Appearance: Deep dark ruby brown with a creamy cake like head that floats on top.

Smell: Hint of coffee and chocolate.

Taste: Creamy smooth mouth feel from a medium body with mid to low carbonation. Full rich palate of coffee, carob and a mild acidic twang from the roasted malts. Bit of butterscotch in the middle which lingers into the finish with an underlying fig like fruity flavour.

Notes: Textured and well structured ... a top shelf porter and worth the $$$. A classic porter worldwide, one of best in the Sam Smith brand.

Like a proper Porter this "Taddy" has roasted Barley and malt flavors, but there is also a bit of licorice and slight chocolate. To me, this beer smelled a lot better that its actual tastes delivered …also... the after-taste leaves an empty/watery impression.

Taste & mouthfeel: Roasty and bitter with berry and toffee flavors. Undertones of burnt grain and black coffee with slight acidity coming through beneath it all. Light-bodied and dry with a vinous quality in the finish.

Notes: Impressive complexity coming from such an unimposing beer. Very good stuff.

A: Poured near black with a thin, creamy brown head. Only a light level of carbonation is visible but there is very good head retention.
S: There are sweet malty and nutty aromas in the nose.
T: The taste very much follows the smell with some malty sweetness and nutty flavors.
M: It feels medium-bodied and smooth on the palate. There's not that much carbonation but the level perfectly fits the style and is just enough.
D: This beer is extremely easy to drink and is very sessionable.

About as good of a porter as I have had (Everett by Hill Farmstead might exceed it) from one of the world's great breweries (if not one of the trendiest these days). Indeed, how many breweries can offer world class stouts, porters, browns, bitters, IPAs, and even lagers? Samuel Smith may not get the respect it deserves these days, which is unfortunate, but it will always be one of my favorites.

Black and clear. Had some creamy mocha colored foam Caramel and some roasty character on the nose. Body is not smooth but more like gritty. Had a hint at robust was but was quite bland. Full chewy mouthfeel on not that much flavor. There was chocolate on the nose and enough on the palate. Bitterness from roast is weak and from hops is nondescript. It finishes dry.

Aroma of roasted malt and molasses. Taste is very identical,maybe some notes of coffee and chocolate. A classic porter that delivers everything I expect from an above average porter. There is some mild sweetness which is balanced with just a touch of bitterness like yu would get from very dark chocolate

this beer is divine, an English porter cannot get any better than this. it pours a luxuriously textured dark brown color with very little light coming in. the head is about two inches tall, and super creamy, light mocha in color. the nose is fantastically enticing, with a lot of milk chocolate notes from the malt, a bitterness from the roasted barley, and a hint of tartness to it as well from the hopping. the flavor is packed full with roasted malts, and is heavy on both the sweet and bitter chocolate components. this is even better than their acclaimed oatmeal stout, something about those stone fermenters really lets the yeast shine in all of their beers, and its an excellent complement to the dark bittersweet complexion of this porter. very little sweetness in the finish though, as the hops and burnt grains bitter it right up. full bodied and smooth as anything, I love the feel of this beer too. my only complaint is that its sold in four packs instead of six packs, I always seem to be wanting another one or two at the end of a session. wow this is just a splendid porter, an example to be followed on both sides of the atlantic!

Purchased #Brexit night. Celebration or commiseration is up to you. Hadn't had one in years and was shocked when I realized I had never actually reviewed it.

A: Pours a fairly dark brown that shows reddish tints when put against a light. Carbonation is difficult to see, but the head is two fingers of delicious espresso crema colored foam. Seriously. So creamy to look at. Retention is decent, as the foam slowly collapses in on itself, leaving a sticky lacing on the glass.

S: Classic. Dark fruit, chocolate, subtle hints of coffee. Low on slow on the roastiness, as the coffee and chocolate seem to have a dollop of creaminess in the nose.

T: Again, dark fruit on the tongue. Chocolate carries the mid palate, both bakers and milk, while the finish picks up a more vigorous dark chocolate and roasted coffee note that I missed in the nose.

M: Creamy in the mouthfeel as well. Carbonation is minimally felt. Does seem a bit thin on the tongue, but I am used to drinker higher octane and higher gravity 'Murican porters and stouts.

O: It's a classic for a reason. Sam Smith (along with Rogue) were some of the first beers to break me free from the yellow fizzy water and introduce me to the world of flavorful fermentables. Good to go back and visit them from time to time. They do stack up.

Pours a deep black but I did notice some slight red hues thru the glass with a thin off white head.The aroma is not very strong on this beer soome slight sweet rasiny smell to it.The taste however is bursting with complexty of flavors,very roasted flavor with some coffee notes,also a lingering raisiny sweetness in the finish.A real nice flavorful porter,a true classic.

Appearance  Black in color with a fine, frothing head that went down slowly and left a little lacing.

Smell  The roasted malts are pleasant and play well with the fruits. Theres some nice grapefruit to be had here along with some dark caramel and smoke.

Taste  The fruits come out big at the taste, making this one lighter than expected. The charcoal smoke and lightly-roasted malts show up as well.

Mouthfeel  Exceptionally sweet and easy on the mouth. This porter is on the heavy side of medium-bodied and felt extremely good going down.

Drinkability  A session porter if there ever was one.

Update  I rated this beer with a 2003 vintage so thought it would be interesting to re-visit it with an 04. Here are my thoughts:

Yes, there is some rather large grapefruit at the nose. I didnt pick up as much sweetness in the taste this time around, but I got some good (albeit light) brown sugar and a twang of rising yeast. Its definitely a solid medium in the body and was a little too clumsy to be called a session brew. Im adjusting the scores a little bit but I think, ultimately, this is a sub-4.0 beer that barely avoids my, would buy again recommendation.

I was very excited to finally try this beer based on many of the good reviews I've read. Pours a very dark, nearly black color with just a touch of deep, ruby-red shining through the edges of the glass. Solid tan head mounted on the top of the beer that isn't going anywhere anytime soon. The initial nose is full of coffee and figs, a bit of roast and a bit of sweetness.

The flavor is unique - it's definitely a porter, but it's quite unlike any other porter I've had. The first thing that hits your palette is a huge roasted barley and malt flavor. Just enormous. This is followed up by a nice roasted coffee bean flavor that starts to take over as the beer is warming in your mouth.

About halfway through, the taste shifts from roasted and malty to slightly sweet and bitter. The bittersweet cocoa comes out, along with a huge punch from the "dark" fruits (dates, figs, raisins, it's hard to pinpoint just one). The transition from roasty and toasty to sweet-tangy-bitter is quite nice and complex, a mark that is oftentimes aimed at and missed in a lot of beers. Medium-heavy body with super huge creaminess and a nice dose of carbonation that really brings everything together.

This beer was incredibly hyped up to me before I finally tried it. Did it live up to the hype? It's hard to say. Probably not. Nevertheless, is it a good beer? Absolutely. One of the most complex flavor profiles for a porter I've had that still manages to keep your attention without going too far out-of-bounds. At 5% ABV, this is something you could drink all night. Solid porter.